Electrical connectors are utilized to couple power and/or data to or from virtually all electrical and electronic equipment. Electrical connectors are especially useful in connecting multi-conductor information leads, hereinafter referred to as information buses, to other buses or to electronic components.
In relatively complicated electronic systems, and especially information systems including one or more computers, it is imperative that the connectors be correctly mated to other connectors and that the information buses are conveying the desired data and/or power. In these complicated electronic systems, an improperly mated connector or a bus having a broken lead can render the entire system inoperative or, worse, inaccurate. Because these systems are extremely expensive, down time is a great waste of valuable time. Also, maintenance can be time consuming and costly.